Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports: Our Seasonal Selection

When you hear the word Harpurhey,chances are your first thoughts probably turn to BBC3’s current answer to the Only Way is Essex rather than the UK’s best outdoor & mountaineering shop but long before the camera crews arrived, Ellis Brigham’s first ever shop started up in this rough and ready Mancunian town (on Conran street) way back in 1933. Still a family run business but now with a multitude of stores (two of which contain indoor ice climbing walls) spanning from way up in Aviemore right down to Bristol all stocked with pretty much everything you could every need for outdoor sport and staffed by enthusiastic and expert staff. As you know, we here at Proper love getting outdoors and were honoured when our North Western neighbours asked us to compile a selection of products currently available on their site. Given the choice it took quite a while but here are ten quality items that we think will help to make any climbing expedition, camping holiday or summer festival a more enjoyable affair.

NORTH FACE Back to Berkeley 68 boots

If we had a time machine we’d go straight back to Berkley in 1968 armed with a massive holdall to fill it with all manner of hikerdelic mintness. So whilst we wait for the existence of this sartorial shopping trip tardis, we’ll make do with these impeccably cool North Face boots. www.ellis-brigham.com/products/back-to-berkeley-68

This lightweight backpack has a 55-litre capacity and jet stream ventilation, to ensure you’ll both look and feel cooler than all the other cats on your hike. www.ellis-brigham.com/products/z55/3315

HEIMPLANET The Cave

Now if this futuristic, Pompidou centre-esque tent doesn’t make you want to immediately run for the hills to live under the stars then basically you have no soul. Suspended from a geodesic air frame the inner tent and flysheet are both erected when the frame is inflated. Meaning not only will your tent be the best looking it’ll also be up in under a minute. www.ellis-brigham.com/products/the-cave/3401

LIFESYSTEMS Survival Whistle

Whatever happened to whistles at raves? Do they still have them? If so this would cut a dash out on the podiums wouldn’t it? If not it could maybe save your life as it creates 122dB of sound should you get stranded somewhere and need to attract attention. Not bad for £5.50 eh? www.ellis-brigham.com/products/survival-whistle/1178

Working in TV a fair bit I know that ‘GoPro’ is the name everyone uses when they want a sturdy camera to accompany someone down a cliff, into some white-water raids or on top of a Police van doing the rounds of Harpurhey. This amazing piece of kit will pay for itself once you’ve sent that POV clip of you falling down the stairs in to You’ve Been Framed. www.ellis-brigham.com/products/hero3-silver-edition/6621

JETBOIL Sol Titanium

At the end of the day what’s better than a good old brew? Road-tested recently by the Ellis Brigham crew out in Patagonia, this lightweight lifesaver can boil half a litre if water in just over two minutes. Which gives you just enough time to get the chocolate hob-nobs out from the bottom of your backpack. www.ellis-brigham.com/products/sol-titanium/4022